Role of matrix metallaproteinase 9 in primary tooth pulpotomy with MTA and biodentine

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) are an important zinc enzyme group that responsible for reducing extracellular matrix components such as collagen and gelatin. MMPs undertake the basic role of reducing substrates such as normal healing, normal behavior tendency, structural ECM proteins, such as wound healing. Inflammatory mediators may play an important role in the stimulation of MMPs in fibroblasts, neutrophils, and macrophages. The bacterium that induces pulp inflammation and tissue destruction promotes the production of MMP. The aim of this study was to determine the expression of MMP-9 in primary molar teeth with reversible or irreversible pulpitis. For this reason the role of MMP-9 expression was evaluated from the pulp samples of mandibular primary molar teeth with irreversible or reversible pulpitis in patients aged between 5-10 years. At the end of the 18 month, MTA group is more succesful than the Biodentin group, but this difference is not statistically significant. The MMP-9 expression level in the irreversible pulpitis group is higher than the reversible pulpitis group and this difference is statistically significant (p = 0.000). It is concluded that MMP-9 plays an important role in the pathogenesis of pulpal inflammation and MMP-9 levels derived from pulp samples can be used as diagnostic tools to evaluate the severity of inflammation.